Green tea is a popular beverage which has been consumed in China and Japan for many hundreds of years. Recently, extensive laboratory research and epidemiologic studies have shown that compounds present in green tea (particularly the flavanols such as catechins) may reduce the risk of a variety of illnesses. These studies, along with the increasing complexity of the consumer's palate have led to increased consumption of green tea, even in markets (such as the USA and Western Europe) where there is no tradition of green tea consumption.
There are two varieties of the tea plant Camellia sinensis, namely var. sinensis and var. assamica. The variety Camellia sinensis var. assamica typically has the highest catechin content and is also relatively rich in certain non-flavanol actives, such as the amino acid theanine.
The flavanols have a large influence on the bitterness and astringency of tea infusions. Thus, owing to the high flavanol content of var. assamica, infusions of green tea from this variety are found to be unpalatably bitter. Consequently, var. assamica is considered unsuitable for use in green tea production (see, for example, “Tea: Cultivation to Consumption”, K. C. Willson and M. N. Clifford (Eds), 1st Edn, 1992, Chapman & Hall (London), Chapter 13, p. 414).
We have recognised that there is a need to provide a green leaf tea that has the enhanced levels of actives typical of var. assamica but which produces a beverage having the palatability of traditional green tea beverages prepared from var. sinensis. We have found that such a need may be met by controlling the amount of catechins delivered by the green leaf tea.